Under United States federal regulations, no person may operate an airplane in any overwater operation unless it is equipped with a device such as a life preserver or flotation (hereinafter, “life vest”) for each occupant. The life vest must be within easy reach of each seated occupant and readily removable from the airplane. In passenger aircraft, this requirement is typically satisfied by storing a life vest underneath each seat.
Each life vest can be stored within an under-seat stowage container. Once the life vest is placed within the stowage container, a door of the stowage container can be closed and fitted with a frangible closure or seal to ensure that the stowage container contents have not been tapered with or removed, or that any foreign object or material has been placed within the stowage container. While the frangible closure should be sufficient to easily identify a stowage container that has been breached, it must allow easy entry into the stowage container to access the contents of the stowage container in case of emergency, but should not be replaceable by unauthorized personnel. Each frangible closure is periodically inspected by authorized aviation personnel to ensure that the stowage container has not been breached. Typically, an inspector checks each closure individually which can involve visual inspection as well as manual contact with the closure to ensure that it has not been removed and replaced. Once the frangible closure has been removed, it must be replaced with an unused seal.
A stowage container closure that allows for a more rapid and simplified inspection to detect a stowage container breach would be a welcome addition to the art. Further, a closure that mitigated the need to maintain a supply of replacement closures would be desirable.